International Rugby

Crash

Overall 35%

Mark Caswell 35%

Micro Value £2.99 re-release Rugby Union is a popular sport. Very popular judging by the amount of budget games that have appeared recently. The latest is International Rugby, a one-or two-player action-packed game for all to family (he says sarcastically). The first task is to ramble through the obligatory option screen, select control methods, amount of players, difficulty level (easy or hard) and either practice or championship games. If you choose practice you enter straight into the match, but in championship mode you can select one of five countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or France) and battle it out on a league table. The game is spilt into two 40-minute halves with the normal rugby rules (ie, kick the frag out of opposing players and score trys). The player under control is highlighted, so there's no risk that your samey-looking figures will be confused with each other. The problem is, it's not very good: small, stick-like players hobble around a green expanse of backdrop. Okay, there's an interest factor with the league table if playing against a mate, but very soon even this becomes tiresome. International Rugby was originally published six years ago and today it can't compete with other sport games.

Blobby rugby players and huge plugs for shops that sell software? A definite 32 percenter, wouldn't you agree?

Your Sinclair

Overall 55%

Rich Pelley 55%

RICH PELLEY dons his washing-up gloves and prepares to take on those oh-so-murky depths of... BARGAIN BASEMENT RUGBY Blue Ribbond £1.99 Reviewer: Rich Pelley Picture the scene. The crowd is buzzing as your men line up for the start. The referee blows his whistle and the game begins. Will you achieve glorious victory in this vital match and win the Triple Crown (or even the Grand Slam)? Likely story. Original, addictive, playable and interesting is what this game would like to be, but "a bit crap really" is all that it can honestly say for itself. It's a sideways-flipping thing - you control one player at a time and can pass, kick or punt the ball trying to score as many tries' (ie 'goals' in rugby terms) as poss (in a sort of sideways Matchday lookalike). You then convert them by kicking the ball over this post thing, a straightforward waggle! the-joystick-press-Fire-and-hope for-the-best affair. It's all a bit muddled really. The graphics are quite small, badly animated and everything tends to get merged into one - so it's all gets a trifle difficult to tell exactly what's going on. And it's a bit hard too. The other'side manages to get away with seemingly impossible moves (eg kicking the ball for miles), which you don't have a hope of pulling off yourself. Things are better if you're playing with a partner - but only slightly because luck has far more to do with who wins than any 'skill' might have, so it hasn't really got any lasting appeal. And you're always getting these naff plugs for WH Smiths and Boots and things popping up all over the place as well. Spooky or what? (Or perhaps it's just a bit crap.)

So how am I doing, then? (I'll give you a clue - I'm losing.)

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Graphics 7/10

Sound 5/10

Value 7/10

Playability 8/10

MACHINE: Spectrum/CBM 64/Amstrad SUPPLIER: Artic PRICE: £7.95 There are loads of sports games around right now - but no one has attempted a rugby simulation. Until now, that is. Artie could have a grand slam on their hands with this simulation of the Home International. You can play the computer or a friend in this novel game - it features passing, line-outs, scrums and conversions. Everything you'd expect from a real-life rugby game. You can become the captain of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales or France for a day and attempt to win the international series. The computer asks you which team you wish to captain and at which of the two difficulty levels you want to start. You also get a league table after each game. Now the bad news. The graphics leave a lot to be desired. If Artic had taken a look at Match Day, this game would have been an instant classic. As it stands, the two teams are represented by black blob like figures - quite well animated but just not big enough to get any real lifelike effect. The man with the ball changes colour so you can spot him. The programmers have included a TV screen, International Baseball style at the top of the screen. This comes into play when it's time to have a crack at a conversion. You kick the ball through the uprights after first checking the wind direction and placing your cursor in the general direction of your kick. But beware - the wind can change as you kick! You see this in close-up on the screen and also on the normal field display. This screen also flashes up the logos of companies like Boots and W.H. Smith when it's not in use for the game. Once the disappointment about the stick-men had worn off, I found myself really enjoying this game. Its best played with a joystick, but there is a keyboard option. If you like action sports games, look at International Rugby. We saw the Spectrum version - maybe Artic are planning to do big things with the graphics for the 64 and Amstrad version. Hope so! If they do, the game could emulate the successes of the other ball games which have featured in the charts this year.

Sinclair User

Overall 2/5

Chris Bourne 2/5

Publisher: Artic Price: £7.95 Memory: 48K Joystick: Kempston, Sinclair Rugby, or Ruggah as it is known on the muddy fields of England, is not the ideal sport to simulate on a computer. It's confused enough in real life, without having to contend with pixels and attribute clashes. International Rugby allows you to play a friend or the computer in the Five Nations series, of which the Triple Crown forms a part. Unfortunately, the players flicker continuously, the controls are sluggish and it's difficult to maintain the flow when the player being controlled changes all the time - you always seem to be running away from the ball. Although Rugby is very much a team game, requiring the setting up of elaborate passing movements to outflank opposition, Artic's version demands the reverse - if you get the ball, your best chance of scoring is to run for the line, dodging as much as you can. Passing appears most erratic, although hours of practice may improve what precision the program provides. But you're unlikely to want to stay with it that long; the flickering figures are a strain on the eyes, the players themselves seem to be wearing long kilts, and often just stand still with the ball waiting to be tackled - or so it seems. There may be a few boneheaded enthusiasts out there who'll want the only rugby simulation in town, but we fear sales are likely to be as limited as the appeal of this poorly designed offering.

Read it at Sinclair User Magazine Online

Your Spectrum

Dougie Bern 4/10

Rick Robson 7/10

Ross Holman 5/10

JOYSTICK JURY Where do you go for arcade action? Rick, Ross and Dougie are game for a graft as they tackle this month's hot new releases. INTERNATIONAL RUGBY Artic £7.95 Ross: I say chaps let's have a game of rugger at least it's a real man's sport. None of your wimpy Everyone's A Wally stuff for us, eh? Right, on with the shorts and on with the matcho. International Rugger's another sport simulation of the type that's so popular at the moment. We're here for the Home International Rugby Tournament with the choice of siding with England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales or France. And your job? Even a rugby player could wrap his brain cell round this one - you just have to win the Triple Crown or the Grand Slam. You have the choice of playing by yourself or against the computer and you can make it hard or easy on yourself. There's everything you'd expect in a real rugby game - drop kicks, tries, conversions, line outs, scrums, the lot except for bruises and broken bones! And if you don't know a rugby ball from a ball bearing, don't despair - you can always give it a go on the practice mode. For a sports simulation, the graphics and the playability aren't up to the standard of, say, Imagine's Basketball but then that's a completely different ball-game. If you're a rugger fan then you'll still have fun chasing the ball around the screen.

Read it at Your Spectrum Unofficial Archive

Crash

Use of Computer 60%

Graphics 59%

Playability 71%

Getting Started 72%

Addictive Qualities 68%

Value For Money 66%

Overall 67%

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Producer: Artic Retail Price: £6.95 Language: Machine code Author: Donald Campbell For those of you who were wondering if there were any sports left for software houses to simulate, the answer's is clearly, YES. The latest offering for armchair sportspersons is International Rugby from Artic. The scenario places you among the world's finest rugby teams, trying to win your way through to the championships. The teams playing are England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France, and you can choose which team you want to control at the start. If you choose to be one of the Home International teams, England, Scotland , Ireland or Wales, then you can have a go at the Triple Crown, and try to defeat the other three home teams. Alternatively, you can choose to go for the Grand Slam, by thoroughly defeating all the other contestants. The game can be played in two ways: practice or contest. Both modes can be played with either one or two players taking part. Practice allows a one off game to be played with either the computer or another human as an opponent. The competition mode sets up a sort of league with the five different teams taking part, up to two can be controlled by humans, with the computer controlling the rest of the teams in the league. As you play through the different games the computer presents a table at the end of each game, giving details on games won, games lost, games played and other such statistical information. When it actually comes to playing, the field is represented in a semi 3D perspective. The rugby ball stays central while the screen scrolls around it. You can only control one player at a time and control is automatically switched to the player nearest the ball. The player you can control is highlighted by the computer to keep things easy. A number of moves are available to the player you are controlling. Passing is effected with the fire button. To tackle and gain possession of the ball from the other team you've got to run past the man in possession from the back. Score a try by placing the ball over the touchline, and a kick is awarded. The kick is actually taken on a small screen which shows a front view of the posts and stadium lights up in the top right hand corner. Two arrows show the direction of the wind and you position a cross which marks the path the ball will take once the kick has been taken. You'll have to take the wind into account if you are to convert the try... When two people are playing against each other at the same time, two sets of keys are provided on the keyboard, though things may get a bit cramped and there might be a bit of a real-life scrum on the keyboard! COMMENTS Control keys: 1/Q up,down S/A left,right and bottom row pass or kick. Joystick: Kempston Keyboard play: responsive enough to play Use of colour: colour clash abounds Graphics: a bit ancient stylistically, but sufficient Sound: adequate Skill levels: 2 Screens: 1

Better than getting muddy - why not play INTERNATIONAL RUGBY, the simulation of the rough, tough (and muddy) real thing. Wear a hooped shirt while you play for added realism.